I finished a big project with a tight deadline yesterday. As soon as it was out of my hands, my boss high-fived me and then said, “Go home. Go do something for yourself.” I gave her a dismissive look, indicating that I had too much to do. “No, really, go do something for yourself and then report back tomorrow. Okay? Really. Okay?”

What my boss would mostly likely do for herself would be to climb a mountain. That couldn’t be farther from what I’d want to do for fun. There actually was a time that I enjoyed climbing, two decades ago (and two stone ago). The last time I went to my boss’s house, about an hour away, for an intensive all-day meeting, she suggested, “Whenever you drive up here, you should set aside some time to go running! Or hiking!” I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I would rather enjoy the natural beauty from my car, or at most a leisurely stroll.

Back to yesterday. If I’d had a little more time before picking up Burrito and Tamale from school, I would have driven to the other side of town to go to a children’s consignment store. That is clearly not for myself, but it’s an activity I enjoy.

Sometimes I get massages or go to the chiropractor, but neither of those can be done at the last minute.

Something that can be done last minute would have been a yoga class, but the thought never occurred to me until now.

I used to go to the pottery studio for Me Time, but I don’t even have a studio selected here.

I ended up trying to take a nap, but I got woken up within a few minutes, so it didn’t really count.

The real Me Time ended up being eating my new favorite snack, cocoa kettle corn. Instead of using a bowl as I normally would, I ate it straight out of the bag. The glamour never stops around here.

What would you do if you had a couple of hours just for yourself?

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

15 Responses to “Thoughtful Thursday: For Yourself”

Jeez, you have hit such a tender point here. It is now that I think that I should have done A, B or C in my maternity leave right before I had the baby. It was all so doable, why did I not think of it at all?

For the first time ever, dear daughter is at the daycare and I am home today. But I hardly have winding down time. I am just buzzing with all the things that can be finished before she is brought home and prepping for a trip that we are about to take.

If I could, I would possible watch a movie in a theatre or possibly get something done at a salon (by something, I mean that I would get anything done – streaks or a pedicure, or a head massage)…

Maybe I would just sit on my balcony for ten minutes and try not to dart glances at the moving hands of the clock.

I can easily answer this, because even with a 9-month-old I regularly get a few hours for myself. I learned during grad school that for my self-preservation I need to be healthily selfish sometimes, and that involves not doing work (research, parenting, or housework) for a few hours on a regular basis. Those hours usually involve a long hot bath, a book, a glass of wine, and some chocolate, though sometimes it’s just going to bed an hour or two early and reading until my normal bedtime. Less frequently lately, because I need to be in the right mood for it, and that usually involves being not too tired, I do calligraphy and illumination — http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/candi/ (hmm, need to update that; I’ve done some since Feb.).

On the one day a fortnight that I do have a morning to myself, I sleep in. It’s the only day that I don’t have to get up to either an alarm for work, or 2x 3yr old early-birds. I should probably do something useful with my morning, but when it comes around, I’m so exhausted, everything else gets pushed aside.

Today, after 2 weeks of little one waking up at random times of night & wanting to partay…i’d say “take a nap”. Or something low energy like reading or watching something just for me…I compromise a lot with G to watch stuff we both like, so we can spend time together, so I haven’t watched some of the shows I enjoy for months. If I was on an energy-high from completing a big project, though, I’d probably go for a walk and get some ice cream & shop/browse for clothes.

What is this alone time you speak of? This is a lovely idea to ponder on. Ugh, I’m such a weirdo that any time I’ve had free I’ve been using it to organize my house or landscape my backyard as I’ve suddenly decided to dust off the type A part of me that was hidden for several years, which is not necessarily a good thing and definitely not something I always enjoy. But it’s hard to shake off that feeling of obligation. Anyhow, when I’m not feeling guilty about having a disorganized house or a weedy backyard, my activities are identical to yours. Shopping at a kid’s consignment shop sounds like heaven! And I love shopping for the kiddo far more than I do for myself. I’m starting to think I enjoy toy stores more than he does…

I’m pretty good at taking tme for myself – I usually get a couple hours in every night, when I should really be sleeping. I get up early to exercise before work. I read my books, I read blogs, and play games on Facebook. Leisure time…I try to have it frequently.

alone time? hubba wha? i would probably either work out (which shouldn’t count b/c i do that most days anyway) or i would try to get some things marked off of my to-do list. that would mostly consist of cleaning/organizing/picking up a few things at the store. i wish i was one of those people who could go shopping or something, but i’ve never really been into it. i could go shopping for the house or for the kids, but not myself.

Wow! I could use a few hours to myself right now, considering I’m on vacation from work at school starting my EMBA program at Villanova. I’ve been here since Saturday and have not really seen much of the outside since then. Very busy with classes, reading and homework.

I’m trying to make time in the morning to exercise on the elliptical machine here and do some stretches. Yoga would be fantastic, but I forgot my mat. So some yoga stretches that don’t need a mat have been awesome.

Usually my Me Time is staying up later than everyone else and watching whatever *I* want to on TV. Tomorrow, though, I have a whole day of Me Time: I’ll be framing a house for a Habitat for Humanity build my church is co-sponsoring. A special thank you to my husband for taking the day off to stay home with the kids so I can go.

Hi, first time commenting, although I have been reading your blog once in a while.
Right now, if I had the chance, I would just stay in bed, reading and hoping to sleep (it does not happen when I want it, especially when I am so tired). If I had a bit of warning, I would schedule a mani-pedi and a hair session (anything that can be done, I have not had anything done to my hair in three years, I think. By someone else, I mean, I did chomp at it myself, since I keep it pulled up anyway).
When my first son was in he crèche, I would come home and read blogs. Now that I have two, I get a bit of me time when they sleep (and I don’t, even though I so should). Which is not that often.

I’d probably write a blog post! It’s been way too long since I had some good me-time, can’t wait for school to start / the sitter coming back from vacation!

But if I would get that me-time when all the admin was already filed, the house was clean and I was pretty much up-to-date with my blog, and the weather was nice, I probably would go for a nice bike ride.